Piperacillin/tazobactam versus cefepime or carbapenems for cefoxitin-non-susceptible Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella aerogenes, Citrobacter freundii, Serratia marcescens and Morganella morganii bacteraemia in immunocompromised patients

Background The role of piperacillin/tazobactam for treatment of serious infections due to AmpC-producing organisms remains debatable, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study in immunocompromised patients that investigated the effect of definitive treatment with either piperacillin/tazobactam versus cefepime or carbapenems for bacteraemia caused by cefoxitin-non-susceptible Enterobacterales. The primary endpoint was a composite of clinical and microbiological failure. A logistic regression model was constructed to assess the impact of definitive treatment choice on the primary endpoint. Results A total of 81 immunocompromised patients with blood cultures positive for cefoxitin-non-susceptible Enterobacterales were included for analysis. There was more microbiological failure in the piperacillin/tazobactam arm compared with the cefepime/carbapenem arm (11.4% versus 0.0%, P = 0.019). Definitive treatment with cefepime or a carbapenem was associated with a decreased odds of clinical or microbiological failure (OR 0.303, 95% CI 0.093-0.991, P = 0.048) when controlling for baseline characteristics. Conclusions In immunocompromised patients with bacteraemia due to cefoxitin-non-susceptible Enterobacterales, definitive treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam was associated with an increased risk of microbiological failure and higher odds of clinical or microbiological failure compared with cefepime or carbapenems.

Automated summary

In immunocompromised patients with bacteraemia due to cefoxitin-non-susceptible Enterobacterales, treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam was associated with an increased risk of microbiological failure and higher odds of clinical or microbiological failure compared with cefepime or carbapenems.